Monday, January 20, 2014

The next leap in optical transport will take us to 400G, says Dr. Jens Rasmussen, Director, Photonic Systems Labs at Fujitsu Laboratories. This will bring several keep benefits in operational savings and capital savings. 400G cards will be software-definable to enable a flexible mix of bit rates and thereby simplify inventory management. The leap to 400G is also about transporting more data on a single fiber. Fujitsu R&D is actively working on ways of improving spectral efficiency by bringing channels closer together. Adaptive modulation for line side cards includes support for today's QPSK and more complex formats like 8QAM and 16QAM.

The technology aggregates 3 bands – 20MHz+10MHz +10MHz – to support speeds of up to 300Mbps. Client devices will need chipsets capable of aggregating 3 bands.

SK Telecom said its testing help advance the global standardization process for LTE-Advanced 3 band CA.

“With the successful development of “LTE-Advanced 3 Band CA”, SK Telecom further strengthens its global leadership in telecommunications technologies,” said Park Jin-hyo, Senior Vice President and Head of Network Technology R&D Center at SK Telecom. “SK Telecom will continue to make strenuous efforts to provide unmatched service quality and speeds, which will lead to the overall advancement of the global telecommunications industry.

SK Telecom also noted plans to showcase its LTE-Advanced 3 band CA at MWC 2014in Barcelona next month. The company expects its demonstration will achieve 450Mbps by aggregating three component carriers (20MHz+ 20MHz+20MHz).

In November 2013, SK Telecom demonstrated downlink speeds of 225 Mbps by using LTE-Advanced Carrier Aggregation to combine 20MHz bandwidth in 1.8GHz band and 10MHz bandwidth in 800MHz band. For comparison, the carrier's regular LTE service delivers a maximum of 150Mbps of speeds using 20MHz of continuous spectrum in one band.

SK Telecom said its planned upgrade to LTE-Advanced (20MHz+10MHz) will enable mobile customers to download an 800MB movie in just 28 seconds, significantly faster than other networks. Measured at their maximum speeds, downloading the same movie file via 3G, LTE, and the existing LTE-Advanced (10MHz+10MHz) would take 7 minutes and 24 seconds, 1 minute and 25 seconds, and 43 seconds, respectively.

The company said that it expects to launch the ‘20MHz+10MHz’ LTE-Advanced service nationwide through smartphones in the second half of 2014, pending release of LTE-Advanced smartphone chipsets.

Verizon announced the extension of its IP/MPLS network in ten additional countries: Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, Nepal, Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen, Madagascar, Mauritius and Tunisia. Additional POPs were added in Chennai, India, and another one in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Verizon's Private IP capabilities now reach more than 150 countries and territories.

“We go where our customers grow,” said Mike Palmer, vice president of strategic solutions, Verizon product strategy and product management. “As our Private IP customers invest and locate in new areas, we are committed to meet the increased network requirements. To stay ahead of our customers’ needs, we’ll continue to add new locations and provide reliable, secure and scalable network services that enable our customers to successfully grow their businesses.”

A group of 25 companies have agreed on license terms for the High Efficiency Video Coding (also known as H.265 and MPEG-H Part 2).

HEVC is designed to improve video coding efficiency for the benefit of Internet and mobile service providers. It is also expected to deliver next generation higher resolution HDTV video displays for 4K and 8K Ultra High Definition TV (UHDTV).

Some key elements of the HEVC Patent Portfolio License, which is expected in early 2014:

Decoder-Encoder Manufacturer Sublicenses

HEVC products sold by a legal entity to end users

0 – 100,000 units/year = no royalty (available to one legal entity in an affiliated group)

“As contemplated, the HEVC license will utilize a modern streamlined pool licensing approach with simple easy-to-understand terms making the technology readily accessible to the largest possible market in the shortest possible time,” said MPEG LA President and CEO Larry Horn. “MPEG LA salutes the cooperation of patent owners who have worked hard to reach common ground in making a joint patent license available for the convenience of HEVC adopters. As a result of their efforts, consumers benefiting from a marketplace of competitive technology choices will be the clear winners.”

As work continues on evaluating patents for essentiality and concluding terms in final agreements, the license is currently supported by 25 prospective HEVC essential patent holders including the following:

Avantel, a new entrant in Colombia’s LTE landscape, has selected Nokia Solutions and Networks to supply the complete infrastructure for its LTE network.

NSN will provide the complete suite of radio and core network equipment along with, as well as build and operate services so that subscribers in Bogota can enjoy a host of advanced mobile broadband services.

“We aim to transform Colombia’s communications landscape with this next-generation LTE network – one that will open up a world of new high-speed services for our customers in Bogota,” said Raul Amaya, chief strategy officer at Avantel. “Our longstanding relationship with NSN, coupled with the company’s experience and expertise in deploying world-class networks across the globe, made it a natural choice as our partner for this important initiative.”

Under the build-operate-transfer agreement, NSN will deliver an LTE network using its Flexi Multiradio 10 Base Stations and Evolved Packet Core (EPC). The network will use NSN's Subscriber Data Management (SDM) solution, including New Technology Home Location Register (NT-HLR) and One-NDS for a centralized database repository. NSN will also supply its ATCA-based Mobile Voice Core solution, which, in the first phase of the roll out, will be implemented with CSFB voice call features to ensure voice services for LTE customers. In the second phase, NSN will deploy its IMS solution to enable the implementation of VoLTE for providing high-definition voice services to Avantel’s subscribers.

In addition, NSN will provide its NetAct management system to ensure consolidated configuration, monitoring and network optimization for Avantel’s radio and core network. The Performance Manager will enable 360 degree insight to network performance. NSN said the deal also includes a complete range of services such as network implementation, planning and optimization, systems integration and network operations where the OSS will be managed by NSN. Financial terms were not disclosed.

NSN noted that it now has 117 commercial references for the delivery of LTE as of January 2014.

In November 2013, Avantel announed US$250 million in venture funding to support its rollout of LTE in Colombia. Avantel Investors included Grupo Banco Mundial, Appaloosa Management, CAF - Banco de Desarrollo de América Latina and other private parties.

"The rapidly increasing consumption of high-bandwidth content is changing the Internet landscape and altering the way communications providers configure and manage their network infrastructure," said Gary Breauninger, Level 3's group vice president of Strategic Enterprise and Wholesale Sales. "By leveraging the global reach of the Level 3 network to deliver content closer to high-demand population centers, we are able to dramatically improve content access and provide a richer Internet experience."

Siklu reported double-digit growth in sales of its EtherHaul E-band millimeter wave backhaul system in 2013.

The company says it sold more than 6,500 EtherHaul units in 2013, to service providers, operators and private networks. Siklu estimates this represents more than 30 percent market share for the year.

“Siklu entered the market with a disruptive price point, which has driven adoption and pulled down average unit prices across the market,” says Richard Webb, Directing Analyst, Microwave and Carrier WiFi, for Infonetics Research, “In 2013 Siklu was a major driver of unit volumes with its EtherHaul licensed millimeter wave products.”

In 2014, Siklu will offer a low-priced, tiny, and unobtrusive V-band (60 GHz) backhaul radio that will enable mass deployment of street-level networked devices. Applications range from carrier small cells backhaul through Wi-Fi offload to security solutions. Combined with its E-band products, these new radios allow Siklu to address multiple backhaul use cases that challenge operators and service providers worldwide.

“We have already transformed the millimeter wave market with our all-silicon E-band radio, and now we’re going to shake up the 60 GHz V-band market,” said Siklu’s CEO, Itzik Ben-Bassat. “Driving small cell backhaul costs down – from unit cost to installation and operational costs - is crucial for profitable deployments.

ZTE issued new financial guidance saying it now expects full-year net profit attributable to shareholders will be between RMB 1.2 billion and RMB 1.5 billion, thanks to stringent control in expenses and tighter scrutiny of business that offer lower margins. The company also cited better management of cash flow and account receivables, resulting in a large increase in operating cash flow. Sales, administrative and research and development expenses were reduced from a year earlier. The full 2013 financial report has not yet been released.